BGM Hero

Night. A thin fog. Hazy moonlight. A desolate widow weeping.

Lower City, Pomo Port.

The sea wind howled, and waves crashed against the concrete harbor wall. White sea foam continuously churned in the waves, shoved into the holes eroded into the wall by years of impact.

Pomo Port was one of the few places in Lower City where one could see the sea. A courier trading company from Central City had once planned the area, intending to build a sizable port for container storage and cargo transit. But in the end, it had been defeated by Lower City's chaotic environment, withdrawing its funds and leaving behind only the newly completed port.

Thus, Pomo Port was a rather unusual place. Instead of containers and warehouses, its land was lined with small harbor houses, stretching from near the port all the way back into other districts.

Alex stood atop one of the buildings, his back to the moon and a hood over his head. He looked like the Grim Reaper beneath the moon, a dark figure standing in one corner. Through the narrow gaps at the eyes of his smooth silver mask, he watched the transaction gradually unfolding at Pomo Port.

Under the flickering yellow lights of Pomo Port, the two groups met face-to-face.

Both groups were tall, burly men with thick muscles, totaling around fifteen or sixteen people. One group was mostly Black men, each openly displaying the automatic rifles in their hands—cheap AK-47s—and the various pistols at their waists.

The men trading with them were all white Russians from the Russian Gang. They likewise revealed their weapons without hesitation, refusing to show weakness.

Both sides watched each other warily, their gun barrels held where they could be turned most easily.

The group with more Black men belonged to Jack's Severed Hand Gang. They were leaders who refused to submit to Jack, trying to stir up trouble and seize power. The first enemies Alex had dealt with during his heroic debut had been these dissenters, as he helped Jack purge them and stabilize his gang.

The Russian Gang opposite them was another Lower City gang made up of Russians, conducting a drug-money transaction with the Severed Hand Gang.

From his elevated position, Alex had a clear view of the whole area. He saw that there were more than just the two groups here. Quite a few others were hiding in the alleyways, likely people intending to rob the robbers.

Alex ignored them. He needed people to spread word of his superhero identity, and they were perfect for the job.

"On a dark night with strong winds, the night of slaughter begins."

As the sea wind howled around him, the hem of his trench coat fluttered. Alex drew two black Desert Eagles from behind his waist, planted a foot on the ledge, and prepared to begin his slaughter.

"Alex, I'll ask you one more time. Are you willing to cooperate?"

Suddenly, the system's voice rang beside Alex's ear.

The salty sea wind made the hem of Alex's coat snap wildly. Beneath his hood, his silver mask was ice-cold. "Tell me everything without hiding anything, then we can discuss the rest."

He still did not trust the system, which was clearly concealing things. Until it told him everything, he could not be bothered with it.

"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, Alex! I'm going to punish you!" the system shouted furiously.

Alex paid it no mind. Since it had appeared, the system had never threatened his life. He had classified it as useless junk—a brat that could do nothing but whine and yell.

Just as Alex was about to make his entrance and kill the gangsters from both sides of the transaction—

An enormous wave of sound suddenly erupted beside him.

"Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun..."

The opening to Zhang Jie's "Battle of the Reverse," like the pulse of a heart marching into war, suddenly blared to life. It was like a massive thunderclap exploding over silent ground, making goosebumps rise all over his body.

That majestic, intense, heart-pounding opening suddenly erupted and resounded through the sky. The sound waves seemed to have form, shaking the air into ripples that spread outward in every direction.

Alex hurriedly stepped back three paces and concealed himself, his pupils shrinking as he looked toward the rooftop beside him. Sand and dust on the roof kept bouncing and whirling under the vibrations of the sound waves.

The massive sound boomed beside Alex's ears, erupting just half a meter away from him. He stretched out a hand and lightly touched it, passing through the powerful, rhythmic ripples. It was as though he were a giant speaker, blasting the thunderous opening of "Battle of the Reverse" from his side.

"System, what the hell are you doing?!"

Alex stood dumbfounded as the heart-pounding rhythm beside his ears gradually intensified!

He was certain the system had not taken control of him. His body and Magnetic Psionics were still his. This overwhelming sound had not come from him, yet it began vibrating half a meter from his body. The music moved with him, as if he had a built-in speaker, making his scalp tingle.

"Didn't you want to be a hero? I'm granting your wish!" the system said viciously.

After the stirring, deafening opening ended, the song reached the vocals. The system directly simulated a deep, battle-hardened voice and began to sing.

"On this ever-changing battlefield... a superhero makes his entrance..."

In the darkness, that voice was practically military-loudspeaker level, spreading terrifyingly in all directions. Houses in the distance that had already turned off their lights immediately lit up again from the noise. Lights sprang up throughout the neighborhoods surrounding Pomo Port, one after another like fireflies in the night. They wanted to see which lunatic was playing music at night—and playing it this damn loudly!

Alex had not intended to make such an explosive entrance. At the beginning, he had only planned to be like Batman had been at first: a slowly emerging urban legend, gradually accepted and gradually becoming known.

But now the system had changed the lyrics too! It even sang, "a superhero makes his entrance"!

Alex was so angry he laughed. I need background music for my fucking entrance???

This enormous sound wave burst from Alex's rooftop. Although he had stepped back a few paces and hidden behind the rooftop wall, the sound was too powerful, shooting straight into the sky. The two gangs in the middle of the transaction, along with the hidden onlookers, were startled and immediately raised their guns at one another in tension.

"You play music while buying drugs? Are you trying to pull something?!" the Black members of the Severed Hand Gang roared.

"Fuck, you're the ones playing music! Are you trying to rob us? Are you trying to notify someone? Are you trying to surround our Russian Gang?!" The Russian Gang men were no less aggressive, pointing their automatic rifles at the Severed Hand Gang and roaring repeatedly.

The groups preparing for the transaction were tense as fire and water, while the massive sound blasting from Alex's rooftop made them glance toward it nervously.

At that moment, another altered lyric from the system surged into the sky in a deep voice brimming with fighting spirit.

"Amid the roaring flames of battle... announcing to the whole world..."

"A signal amid wildly flying smoke... the age of heroes has arrived..."

The two gangs were enraged. They felt that someone was setting them up. Following the direction of the sound, they immediately swung their guns toward Alex's rooftop and opened fire amid the system's battle-charged singing. "Rat-a-tat-tat-tat..." Bullets struck the rooftop wall, kicking up dust again and again. The gunfire matched the line about wildly flying smoke perfectly.

The gunfire mixed with the massive sound waves, roaring with intensity and shaking the night!

"Who is it?"

"Come out!!"

"Come out!!!!"

"Who the fuck plays BGM at night?!"